Mu Yunyao gladly accepted Yang Shi's kindness, but after five to six days, she called her over and gave her a silver. When she saw Yang Shi's face darken, she quickly explained.
"Auntie, I know that you were not sending food to us just for silver, but we can not possibly eat for free. Everyone in the village is having a tough time keeping up with the daily expenses."
"Haaa, little girl, fine, since it's like that, then I will use this silver to buy better ingredients for you and your Mother. Just look at yourselves, you two are so thin, a single gust of wind can blow you two away."
"Alright, thank you Auntie. Oh, right, I have some thread here, some of them have become useless to me and there also some left overs. I've already arranged them properly. Auntie, if you are free, I can teach you a thing or two?"
"Oh, that embroidery technique of yours is way too difficult for me," Yang Shi quickly rejected her. She really did not believe that she could ever do that.
"There are many embroidery techniques. The technique I was using is indeed way too complicated, but I also know some simpler ones. Auntie has a clear mind, you can definitely learn it. You can take advantage of your break times from the field work and stitch up things like handkerchiefs. You can even sell them to earn extra revenue for your family."
"I can really do it?" Yang Shi was very unsure.
Mu Yunyao smiled and nodded her head, "Of course you can." Yang Shi's sincere kindness towards her and her Mother is something that she will never forget.
Mu Yunyao took some time out to teach Yang Shi some simple embroidery techniques. She then drew out some flowers for Yang Shi to practice on. Although Yang Shi was quite slow in learning, she was extremely focused. Thus, her work was quite refreshing and the quality was not low.
Yang Shi was very happy. She brought along her work and went to Yan City for Market Day. When the shopkeeper from Spring Embroidery saw her handkerchief, he also thought that it was quite good and bought it at twenty wens. He told Yang Shi that Spring Embroidery can provide her with handkerchiefs and threads, while she would be in charge of just the embroidery. For every handkerchief done, she would get five wens.
(T/N: I got this from online: 5 jiao = 1 wen. 1000 wen=1 silver. 1000 silver=1 gold.)
(T/N: As you can see, 1 silver is quite a lot. Stupid Li Shi hmph!)
When Yang Shi told Mu Yunyao all about it, Mu Yunyao immediately knew that the shopkeeper was trying to get on her good side. "Auntie's handiwork has been recognised."
Yang Shi was incredibly grateful. She knew that nowadays when people find a way to make money, that would keep their skills to themselves. But Mu Yunyao sincerely taught her some of her techniques. Yang Shi had only sewn on a flower at the corner of the handkerchief. The flower was not even big. If she was quick, she could make quite a few of these in one day. This way of earning money was a bit too easy.
On a particular day, Mu Yunyao finished laying out the foundation for the mountains and rivers. She carefully rolled up her art piece and used a pure white cloth to cover it. Again, Su Qing and Yang Shi accompanied her into the city.
The moment they reached the entrance of Spring Embroidery, the shopkeeper immediately rushed out to welcome them and brought them to the tea room upstairs. "Miss Mu is here, are you lacking anything else?" As he spoke, his eyes were glued onto the fabric that Yang Shi and Su Qing were carrying.
Mu Yunyao did not find it weird when the shopkeeper said out her surname. She would have instead found it weird if he had not gone to do a background check on her. "I thought about it very hard, and I did think that shopkeeper's words from the other time made a lot of sense. If I did just depend on myself to earn the money for the thread I want, it would take way too much time. It would be much better to just use the materials provided by shopkeeper. But, I wonder how much silver shopkeeper is willing to pay?"
"Wouldn't this purely depend on Lady's handiwork? Embroidery has never had had a fixed price. If one likes it, one would even give tens of hundreds of silver. But if one does not like it, even two wens would be way too expensive." When the shopkeeper finished speaking, he searched Mu Yunyao's face for any signs of uneasiness, but he realised that she was very calm, even calmer than him, who had overcome many obstacles.
"I used the thread to somewhat stitch out the outline of the picture. Shopkeeper can take a look at this." If she wanted to reel in a large fish, she had to be very careful.
The fabric slowly unrolled. The shopkeepers eyes were fixated on it as the picture unfolded. Past the white patch on the fabric, there were mountains and valleys that looked ancient and elegant. Just one glance was enough to cause the viewer to stare at it in a daze. Especially at the very end of the picture, a small bit of red stood out from the rest. It was a red sun that rested high above everything else.
The shopkeeper sighed in admiration for a while. Then, he took a closer look and said, "It's hard to imagine that a picture like this was actually sewn out bit by bit."
Mu Yunyao gave a slight smile and helped Yang Shi and Su Qing flip the fabric over.
The shopkeeper took one look, widened his eyes and completely froze on the spot. "This...this is..."
Mu Yunyao slowly folded up the fabric and kept it. She asked, "Shopkeeper, say, how much do you think this picture will cost?"
"This...," The shopkeeper took a while before he came back to his senses. Hearing her words, he became hesitant. From this embroidery piece, it was clear that this girl was rich in knowledge. If he gave a price that was too low, he was worried that she would immediately leave. After all, he needed to send this picture to the Capital...
Wait a moment. The shopkeeper quickly raised his head and looked at Mu Yunyao with a cold gaze. "Miss Mu is clearly very well informed of my intentions."
The back of this mountains and rivers picture was actually a picture of dragons and phoenixes! There can only be one person who can own this picture, and that is the current Emperor!
How was a mere villager girl able to know that he wanted to send this picture to the Capital as a birthday gift for the Emperor? Was everything before about being filial to her Father just an act?
"Initially, I was not aware about it. However, someone came up to my door and asked to buy my art piece. Since I had already made a deal with shopkeeper, I naturally rejected that person. That person said a few sentences and I somehow made a guess...I wanted to thank shopkeeper for putting so much trust in me, so I made this double sided embroidery piece. I wonder if this was not right of me?" Mu Yunyao said, a slightly nervous and excited light appeared in her eyes.
The shopkeeper's suspicion did not lessen the slightest bit. "Who met you?"
"I'm not too sure, but when they left, someone called that person 'Boss Tan'."
Tan? The only person with the surname Tan, and also keeps track of all of his actions, is his old rival Colour Moon Shop!
No wonder, that must be why the shopkeeper of Colour Moon Shop was acting all strange these few days, he had also started to aim for this lady's embroidery piece!
For a split second, the shopkeeper's face was covered in fury. But, he quickly recovered and said, "Miss Mu, this embroidery piece of yours, is this price acceptable?" A picture like this was enough to put a person in a trance, he definitely had to buy it! There were even more powerful people in Colour Moon Shop, if they get to this art piece first, he would be in trouble. As he said this, he reached out with one finger.
Mu Yunyao inwardly laughed. She had already threw out Shopkeeper Tan's name, yet this shopkeeper is still trying to test her. If he's being like this, then he can't blame her for taking a big bite. "One hundred thousand silvers? Shopkeeper is such an honest man."
(T/N: 100 000 is 十万, aka 10 万. 1 万 is equivalent to 10 000.)
He shopkeeper choked, one hundred thousand silvers, this girl was not even ashamed of saying that out loud. "Miss Mu, this embroidery piece is below the Heavens, how can it cost one hundred thousand silvers per piece?"
"That shopkeeper Tan said that this art piece is priceless."
"Lady, I am willing to give one thousand silvers..."
Mu Yunyao immediately stood up. "Shopkeeper, tell me how much is all the thread and cloths, I will give it to you. This picture is not for sale."
"Ah, Lady, we can further discuss the price, please sit down," The shopkeeper immediately tried to appease her.
Mu Yunyao looked very unhappy. "I saw that shopkeeper trusted me, and so I rejected shopkeeper Tan's offer of one hundred thousand silvers. I even specially made changes to the art piece to make it a better fit for you, and yet, you only offer one thousand silvers. Are you taking advantage of the fact that I am a mere villager girl?"
"Lady, that shopkeeper Tan is not an honest man. He said that he would offer you one hundred thousand silvers, but would he really give you that much? He would give you the silvers, and then send people to get it back by blackmailing your family. What would you do then?"
When he saw that Mu Yunyao looked slightly convinced, the shopkeeper secretly sighed in relief. "Lady, for this picture, I am willing to offer...ten thousand silvers. This is the best price already. I will provide all the materials for you, how is that?"
Mu Yunyao bit her lip and asked, "Then, how would I know whether or not shopkeeper will take the money back by force?"
Spring Embroidery's shopkeeper finally understood what it felt like to pick up a stone and drop it on his own foot. "I would never. Spring Embroidery had always been an honest business, you can ask around in Yan City."
Mu Yunyao still looked quite reluctant. Just as when the shopkeeper started to let out a few drops of cold sweat, she slowly smiled. "Indeed, Spring Embroidery's reputation had always been excellent. I'm sure that the shopkeeper will not destroy the hard work of more than a hundred years just for a little bit of silver."
"Ye- yes, that's right." The shopkeeper was already void of any lingering feelings of disdain against Mu Yunyao. He immediately started to calculate, "Lady, so, is ten thousand silvers alright with you?"
"Shopkeeper, ten thousand silvers is really a lot to people like me. But that is a mere small sum to Spring Embroidery. Furthermore, if this picture of mine were to be able to aid Spring Embroidery to accomplish its goals, wouldn't that just mean I would be an important stepping stone for Spring Embroidery?"
"So what does Lady mean by all this?" The shopkeeper had a bitter expression. "Spring Embroidery may be big, but I am just a small shopkeeper. I do not have the rights to move too large sums of silver. Also, I am not even sure whether this picture would be successfully finished. If it fails to be completed, then me and my family may be chased out of Spring Embroidery. I hope that Lady can understand my worries."
"I have already finished one half of this picture. Shopkeeper can first give me ten thousand silvers. When I finish my picture, shopkeeper will give me another ten thousand. How does that sound?"
Hearing that she was no longer trying to take big bites out of this, the shopkeeper was ecstatic. He thought that she felt sympathy for him. "This...Lady, as you can see, I do have my woes..."
"Hmph, shopkeeper wants to accomplish a big mission, yet you would still try to bargain for mere small sums of silver, hahhhh..." Mu Yunyao shook her head.
"Alright, deal!" The shopkeeper did not want her to change her mind anymore. Twenty thousand it is then. Using that sum to buy a picture that could shock the world, this was a good day for Spring Embroidery! "However, we should write all this down on paper."
"Naturally, I am terrified that shopkeeper won't give me my silver!"
The shopkeeper immediately ordered people to bring them writing tools. The shopkeeper looked at Mu Yunyao. Would she be able to read?
Mu Yunyao took the stationery. With tiny movements from her wrist, words appeared on the paper. The shopkeeper widened his eyes, who exactly was this girl? She kept surprising him!
Once he read through the contract, studied it carefully and was sure that there were no mistakes or loopholes, he signed on it and made a hand print on it. Done.
When they left Spring Embroidery, Yang Shi was extremely nervous. She made sure to carefully guard Mu Yunyao. When someone got too close, Yang Shi immediately thought that the person was up to no good.
Ten thousand silvers, she could not even imagine how to spend ten thousand silver. Only when did they enter the carriage and started their trip back to the village, did Yang Shi sigh in relief.
Yang Shi's back was covered in cold sweat.
"That frightened the living lights out of me, so much money...what would we have done if something had happened to us?" Yang Shi patted her chest continuously.
Mu Yunyao smiled. When she saw that Yang Shi was acting as per normal, she felt more relaxed. Money was capable of twisting people's hearts, she had been afraid that Yang Shi would also start to have impure intentions towards them.
"Auntie, with the way that we are dressed, no one would ever think that we are holding so much silver."
"Aish, don't say it out loud, what if someone hears you?"
"Alright, I got it."
When they reached the village, Mu Yunyao did not go back straight to her embroidery work. Instead, she called Yang Shi over and passed her two sheets of hundred silver. "Auntie, you and my Mother are good friends, these two sheets of silver is given with regards from my Mother. This is only for you, I hope that Auntie does not reject it."
(T/N: One sheet of that hundred silver is equivalent to a hundred silver. Mu Yunyao is giving Yang Shi two hundred silvers.)
"Little Yunyao, your Mother and I are similar in such a way that both of our Mother-in-laws dislike us. But I am luckier than your Mother. My Mother-in-law passed away early and I myself am treated quite well by the head of the family. So, when I saw how your Mother was being mistreated, I felt especially angry. Naturally, I like silver very much, but my present and future will go accordingly to how I am as a person. If I were to spend this silver, my heart will feel discomfort and regret."
Mu Yunyao froze. A sense of respect for Yang Shi appeared in her heart. Although Yang Shi was poor and ordinary, but she was even more beautiful than those wealthy fairies from the Su family. "Auntie, keep this silver in case of emergencies. If you have no use for it, you can just keep it somewhere. When Mother and I return, you can give the silver back to me."
"Return? You two are leaving?"
"When I finish the picture, we will be leaving this village."
"This...although the world outside is more peaceful than it was in the past, but it is still not safe. Where are you two going?"
"We will be going in the South direction, but we haven't really planned out our route exactly."
"You should really consider it further...," Yang Shi was worried. A young girl and a widow are especially susceptible to danger. It was lucky that Li Shi could no longer bully them, but if something were to happen to these two on their trip, it would be a tragedy.
Mu Yunyao persuaded Yang Shi for half a day before Yang Shi finally agreed to keep the silver. After sending her away, Mu Yunyao opened up the cloth, lit the candle to cast light on the entire room, and continued her work. Ten thousand silver, that was enough to last an ordinary person an entire lifetime. When they reach Jiangnan, it would be enough for her and her Mother to settle down.
(T/N: Jiangnan aka location at the South of the river.)
After finishing stitching on a dragon scale, Mu Yunyao raised a hand to lightly knock on her tense neck. She stared at her work as her mind wandered off.
The Su family was a wound in her heart that would never be able to heal. Just one light touch was enough to cause so much pain that she could feel it deep down in her bones. She hated them to the point that her heart bled. Now, she was far away from the Su family, but she could cause trouble for them using the very picture before her. This was just the appetiser.
Spring Embroidery had expanded from the Capital and then spread throughout the lands. On the surface, it looked just like an ordinary business, but if that were truly the case, it would have been gobbled up wholly a long time ago.
Only when did she become the concubine of Jin Wang, did she find out that Spring Embroidery was supported by the Su family and the Meng family. These two families also stood behind Jin Wang and thus Spring Embroidery naturally became a source of his income, allowing Jin Wang to become extremely powerful. If she was able to destroy Spring Embroidery, it would definitely serve as a big blow to the Su family, and also at the same time, cut off one of Jin Wang's allies. This would be enough to hurt him deeply.
Now, she had nothing, so she was unable to control anything in the dark. She could only follow the Heaven's will. Whether or not her plan will succeed will all depend on the Heavens.
Zhang Caizhu's crimes reached the Emperor's ears, causing the Emperor to become enraged. He ordered for the immediate death of Zhang Yongan. The victims' family members gathered outside the city walls and kowtowed in thanks for the Emperor's kindness. Magistrate Liu, who was in charge of this case, was rewarded by the Emperor. Although he did not promote, but it would not be long before he does.
Mu Yunyao and her Mother was not mentioned at all throughout. The general public was only told that a few other women nearly became Zhang Yongan's victims. However, Li Shi became infamous. The news that two men over the age of fifty fought each other to win over Li Shi was good material for gossip amongst the public.
Looks like she had to find a chance to thank Coroner Liu. The fact that she and her Mother's names were not mentioned at all was thanks to him.
"Yao Er, what are you thinking? You look so focused."
"Mother," Mu Yunyao came back to her senses and immediately put on a sweet smile. "It's nothing, I was just thinking that we will soon be able to see the scenery down at Jiangnan. I feel really happy!"
"Jiangnan...since Yao Er likes it, we will definitely go. But your Grandma she..."
"We will just bring her along." Of course she had to bring her along, after all, she is a filial granddaughter. She must not let her own reputation go to ruin. As for where she would throw Li Shi to, that has not been confirmed.
"En, that's alright."
"Mother, what type of clothes do you like? We have some money now. I will buy anything that Mother likes."
"You ah, the fact that you are here is already enough. Everything else is not important." Su Qing was already extremely satisfied with everything. She just wanted to live a peaceful life with Mu Yunyao.
Mu Yunyao whined at Su Qing, "Mother, Yao Er's shoulders are aching, I want Mother to massage me."
"Alright, Mother will help you."
Mu Yunyao lay in Su Qing's embrace. She felt a comfortable strength on her shoulders. Mu Yunyao slowly fell asleep, the smile on her lips never disappeared.
In Xingsheng restaurant, sat Yue Wang, whose injuries had mostly healed. He asked coldly, "Has the dagger been replaced?"
"Yes, Master, an exact replica had been made, the only difference is that your mark is not on it." Although that dagger did not have Yue Wang's special sign, but that mark was carved in by him when he was bored. If that dagger ended up in an enemy's hands, they might get into some trouble.
"To the village."
"Master, Yue Xi sent a message for you to return quickly."
Yue Wang furrowed his eyebrows. That little girl caused so much trouble for him, causing him to have no choice but to stay in Yan City. He even had to think of a way to clear up the aftermath of her situation. Not getting revenge on her was not like him. "A few couple of hours should not be a problem."
"Master, the Emperor's birthday is in two months. After that, coming back here to get our revenge would lead to the same results. But now, there are much more urgent matters to attend to, we should really return immediately," His guard persuaded.
"Fine, then." Two months would not be enough for that troublesome thing to escape from him.
Mu Yunyao was unaware that she had just gotten out of danger. She was currently concentrating on her embroidery. Yang Shi was no longer stitching handkerchiefs. Every day, she would cook for them and help Su Qing to cut the thread.
On a particular day, Mu Yunyao did her last stroke and wriggled her sore fingers and wrists. She sighed heavily, "Done, finally done!"
Yang Shi quickly placed a white cloth on the bed and placed her masterpiece onto it with the help of Su Qing. She marvelled at the picture, "No matter how many times I look at it, I still find it hard to believe that this was sewn out by mere thread. It's so beautiful, words are just not enough to describe it."
Mu Yunyao was also extremely satisfied with her work. As she looked at her picture, she felt that the Heavens will definitely be on her side. "We should do two more thorough checks before sending it to Spring Embroidery's shopkeeper." Now, only the embroidery piece was done. Making it into a screen would still require some time, she had to get it to the shopkeeper as quick as possible.
"Right, we should hurry and send it to him, if this stays here for too long, I might spoil it with my gaze." The more Yang Shi looked at it, the happier she got. Many times she had to stop herself from touching it.
"Auntie, then, tomorrow, could you and Uncle Yang send us there?"
"Alright, I can't possibly allow only the two of you to go by yourselves. I will head back and give my husband a heads up so he can ready the donkey."
"Auntie," Mu Yunyao called out to her with a saddened expression. "Tomorrow, after we send the picture over, my Mother and I will be leaving."
"So soon?" Yang Shi's heart tightened. She looked at Su Qing with sadness and said, "Sister Su Qing, have you both really decided to go?"
Su Qing nodded her head, "Zhang Caizhu's case had already caused an uproar. Yunyao's project has also become common knowledge amongst the people. Staying here is not good for our wellbeing."
Yang Shi sighed. "That's true, people's hearts cannot be trusted. Have you packed all your things already?"
Mu Yunyao shook her head. "We are not planning to let others know that we are leaving, thus we are leaving most of our things behind. Tomorrow, we are only bringing Grandma along with us. We will tell the rest that we are just bringing Grandma to the city to get her leg treated."
"En, true, you both already have quite a bit of money, you can just use it to buy your necessities." And towards their decision to bring Li Shi along, Yang Shi strongly did not approve. But she could not say anything about that as she was just an outsider.
The next day, Mu Yunyao brought Li Shi into the city. They were greeted by many people. When they heard that she was bringing Li Shi to the clinic to get her leg treated, they all sighed. This crazy old hag was incredibly fortunate to have such a daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
When they entered the city, Mu Yunyao left Li Shi to Yang Shi's husband's care and entered Spring Embroidery.
As the two month deadline got closer, the shopkeeper became increasingly impatient and nervous. If Mu Yunyao did not come today, he would have to go to the village to look at her progress. As he thought, he saw Mu Yunyao, Yang Shi and Su Qing enter through the door.
"Ladies, Miss, you have come. Please, come upstairs for some tea." The shopkeeper was all smiles as he quickly led the three to the second floor.
The tea had already been readied. Yang Shi was already quite thirsty, but as she remembered Mu Yunyao's words, she forced herself not to reach over for a cup.
The shopkeeper's attention was entirely on the picture and did not notice that small detail.
"Shopkeeper, the picture has been completed. Today, I have brought it over to you to let you have a look."
The shopkeeper had already covered a table with high quality white silk. Su Qing and Yang Shi carefully opened the picture and set it down on the table.
Mountains and rivers and ridges and peaks covered most of the picture. A stream of rapids went down from the highest of the Heavens. This mere embroidery piece seemed to hold all the beauty of Nature. The ones who behold this would feel tiny as they gazed at the vast landscape depicted in this picture. Mere flowery language were just not enough to describe its beauty.
There was silence in the room. After a long while, the shopkeeper sighed in admiration, "Your work is out of this world, Miss. Superlative craftsmanship!"
"I thank the shopkeeper for the compliment. As for the remaining 10 000 silvers, has the shopkeeper readied them?"
"It has been readied," the shopkeeper was not sluggish with his response. He happily took out the silver, "It would be such a pity if Miss does not show off her skills."
"This skill was handed down from my ancestors. Is shopkeeper trying to steal it?" Mu Yunyao tilted her head to the side, the smile on her lips slowly started to fade.
"Oh, no, I wouldn't dare, it was just a question, Miss shouldn't take it to heart." If he wanted to get this skill of hers, his relationship with her must remain good.
"With this silver, our deal has been settled. We will not disturb you any longer."
"Yes, yes, I will accompany you all out. Would you like me to call for a carriage to send you back?"
"No thank you, we still have to bring my Grandma to the clinic, we can take care of the arrangements on our own," Mu Yunyao rejected him. She took the silver and walked out of Spring Embroidery unhurriedly.
Yang Shi was feeling incredibly nervous. When they reached the donkey cart, they saw Coroner Liu.
"Apologies, Coroner Liu must have waited for quite some time," Mu Yunyao went up and gave her greetings.
"No matter, when I heard from the child informant, I thought that he was kidding. Who knew, you all really did come to Yan city to bring your Grandmother to see the doctor!"
"Well, the first reason is indeed to bring Grandma to the clinic. The second, however, is to ask a favour from you, Coroner Liu."
Coroner Liu nodded his head, "If you have any problems, feel free to ask for my help."
Mu Yunyao asked, embarrassed, "Before, you have already sent us back the the village with a carriage. Now, we want to go the a place even farther away. We have no one else that we can trust, and thus we have come to trouble you to help us find a carriage."
"A place farther away?" Coroner Liu froze. He nodded his head without asking where they were going. "Let's go, I'm bringing you to the carriage centre to find someone."
Mu Yunyao thanked him again. Before they set off, she looked at Yang Shi and gently held her hand. "Auntie, I must trouble you to help me look after Grandma for a little while."
Yang Shi nodded her head, "Leave it to me."
When the people at the carriage centre saw Coroner Liu, they all came up to greet him. Coroner Liu and Magistrate Liu were cousins, they had to stay on Coroner Liu's good side.
"Where's Old Zhao?"
"Old Zhao, come here quickly, Coroner Liu is here."
"Oh, how did Liu squeeze out some time to come and see me?" The coachman referred to as 'Old Zhao' came over. He looked to be about 40-50 years old. Some of his hair had already turned white, but he seemed quite lively. He was holding a brush, which must have been used to brush a horse.
"I need your help to run this errand. These two are my old friend's family. They need to go to a far away place, I was hoping that you could send them there."
Old Zhao studied Su Qing and Mu Yunyao. He wore an honest smile on his face, "Alright, leave it to me. The two of you can just refer to me as Old Zhao."
"Thank you, Uncle Zhao," Mu Yunyao thanked him.
Old Zhao waved his hand and brisk-walked to the backyard. Not long later, he brought out a carriage. "Please get on, where do you two want to go?"
Mu Yunyao turned to Coroner Liu and bowed. "Thank you very much, Coroner Liu."
"Hurry along now, be careful on your way there."
"Yes."
They got on onto the carriage and travelled to the city gates. Yang Shi helped Li Shi into the carriage, her eyes were filled with sadness. "You all...you all be careful on your way there."
"Be at ease, we will be fine." Su Qing's eyes were filled with tears. She held Yang Shi's hands tightly.
"Auntie, when everything becomes peaceful again, we might even be back in a year and a half's time. When that time comes, we would really like to eat Auntie's cooking again."
"Alright, you can eat as much as you want, Auntie will make for you."
"En!"
Li Shi, on the other hand, was feeling extremely nervous. She looked at her surroundings and cried, "You wretches! Where are you bringing me to? You earned so much silver..."
A cold flash shot across Mu Yunyao's eyes. She took a cloth and stuffed it into Li Shi's mouth.
(T/Nonsense: Geez, Li Shi really knows how to ruin a tearful farewell. I hope she dies alone in a skunk's den.)
Yang Shi jumped in fright. To prevent them from wasting anymore time, she gave the cloth package that was in her hand to Mu Yunyao. "This are the things that you wanted me to buy. Go quickly, go."
Mu Yunyao nodded her head and helped Su Qing onto the carriage. "Uncle Zhao, let's go."
"Alrighty!" The horse gave a light snort and they rode out of Yan city towards the North.
After travelling for about an hour, they reached a fork. "The road on the left leads to Linjiang city, while the other leads to Dongkui city. Where do you ladies want to go?"
(T/N: Linjiang, aka, literally, Overlooking River. In China, it is a county-level city in the southern Jilin province. It is not far from the border of North Korea.Dongkui, aka, literally, East Chief. No such city in modern-day China.)
Mu Yunyao pushed the curtain to the side and asked, "Uncle Zhao, can you sell this carriage to me?"
"Huh?" Old Zhao thought that he misheard her. "Miss, this carriage is not for sale."
"Old Zhao, according to the market prices, the total cost of the carriage and the horse is around 100 silvers. I will give you 400 silvers, 200 will go to you for the carriage and horse, while I must trouble you to pass the remaining 200 to coroner Liu as a thank you gift. What do you say?"
200 silvers, Old Zhao widened his eyes. This girl looked to be quite young and her clothes looked very ordinary. How does she have so much silver?
Mu Yunyao secretly squeezed the drug powder in her hand. When she saw Old Zhao nod his head, she quietly sighed in relief.
(T/Nonsense: What do you think? Clearly Mu Yunyao had that drug in her hand to knock Old Zhao out, but what kind of worst-case scenario do you think Mu Yunyao thought was most probable.)
After taking her silver, Old Zhao taught her how to drive the carriage. When he was done, he left.
Su Qing was a little terrified. This was her first time going somewhere so far.
"Yao Er..."
Mu Yunyao chuckled as she comforted her. "Mother, don't be afraid. I asked beforehand, from where we are now to Linjiang city, it would only take about 1 hour. When we reach there, we can start to plan." As she finished speaking, she hopped into the carriage and opened the cloth bag that Yang Shi handed to her. She put on the male clothes and then reached down to the ground and wiped some dirt onto her face. She sat onto the coachman's seat and drove the carriage towards Linjiang city.
Since it was winter, there were not many people on their way towards Linjiang city. Mu Yunyao and Su Qing's hearts were in their mouths until they finally, peacefully reached the gates of Linjiang city.
Mu Yunyao found a quiet spot in the forest and stopped the carriage. She brought Li Shi down and then stroked the horse's neck. "They say that old horses can recognise their way. We are not far from Yan city, you should know the way back. Go, go find your Master," As Mu Yunyao finished speaking, she patted the horse's back. When she saw that the horse had already pulled the carriage to a large distance, she sighed.
"Yao Er, why did you release the horse?"
"Mother, the road to Jiangnan is very long. Going by the land route is way too difficult, we will have to pass by many cities and towns. This would be way too dangerous for just the two of us. Thus, I thought that we should travel by water. It would be much faster that way. A carriage is much too attention-grabbing. There might be people who will start to raise ill-intentions towards us. Why not be a little more low-key, it would save us so much trouble."
"En, Yao Er is very clear-minded." When she saw that Mu Yunyao was very careful, Su Qing felt much more relaxed. "But, are the two of us able to carry your Grandma all the way?"
Mu Yunyao laughed coldly, "Grandma, as you can see, Mother and I do not have the power to carry you. Why don't you rest here?"
"Yao Er, I am your Grandmother, you can't just leave me alone just like that..." Li Shi's eyes were filled with anxiety. Now, she could only rely on Mu Yunyao and Su Qing. There was no other way for her to survive.
Su Qing's heart skipped a beat. "Yao Er, in the end, she is still..."
���Mother, do you remember what I told you before? My leg became useless, and yet, how did she treat me? Mother, the fact that we are not going to kill her is already for the sake of Father! Just think about what she has done to us in the past, she knew that the Zhang residence is a terrible place, once you step in you can never step out again. Yet, she still sold us in exchange for silver. Does a person like that deserve your sympathy?"
Su Qing bit down on her lip, hard. A moment's later, she turned away and walked out of the forest.